Recommended Reading, Listening and Watching

Date Posted: Friday, 22 June 2007

When I embarked upon making this list of books, articles, papers, films, music and songs which have been helpful to me and others when they have been studying the development and nurture of children I was tempted at first to place them in two distinct categories. One category was to be for the general reader and the other for the more specialised reader. However when I started to do this I found it an impossible task. It soon donned on me that all good books about children and their upbringing have something of interest for both the general and specialist reader. You may of course argue that this is the rationale of a lazy compiler, but in an attempt to divert that charge where a book whose title seemed obscure or esoteric, I have made a short comment on its general theme. There may be important omissions from this list but this will probably be because I have not heard, seen or read those particular items. I would be grateful to be advised of these so that I can check them out and where necessary put the record straight.
This is ever a work in progress.

Alvarez, A. (1992) Live Company : Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Autistic, Borderline, Deprived and Abused Children London Routledge

Ammaniti, N. (2003) I’m Not Scared Edinburgh Canongate This novel is in my view not only a thundering good read but also provides an insightful tableau of the vicissitudes of childhood with its shifting alliances, its discovery of adult fallibility, its seemingly casual yet emotionally costly betrayals, and the mix of helplessness and bravery with which children confront adult situations when they are forced to do so.

Beedell,C.(1970) Residential Life with Children London Routledge and Kegan Paul

Bettelheim, B. (1974) A Home for the Heart London Thames and Hudson.

Bion,W.R. (1961) Experiences in Groups and Other Papers London Tavistock

Burnside, J. (2008) Glister London Jonathan Cape This blistering, harrowing yet beautiful novel distils the poisoned essence of the social dysfunction in a post-industrial community and traces the tragic events which befall Leonard Wilson, the book’s adolescent hero – who is the carer for his isolated and ill father – as he tries to make sense of his world.

Burton, J. (1993) The handbook of residential care London Rutledge A comprehensive text which is demonstration of the thinking behind, and the practicalities of, good residential child care.

Burton J.(2015) leading good care THE TASK, HEART AND ART OF MANAGING SOCIAL CARE London and Philadelphia, Jessica Kingsley See review at the goodenoughcaring Journal Issue 17

Cantet, L. (2009, Director) Film : Entre les Murs France Entitled The Class in the United Kingdom, this film really touches the spot where the subtleties of the power lie in the relationship between seemingly reasonable liberal adults and the young people – in this case a class of immigrant teenagers at a school in Paris – they are responsible for helping and educating. I think youngsters and workers should view this together and follow it up with an honest discussion.

Copley, B., & Ferryan, B. (1997, 2nd edition) Therapeutic Work with Children and Young People London Cassell

Courtioux, M., Davies Jones, H., Kalcher, J., Steinhauser, W., Tuggener, H., Waaldjik, K. (1987) The Socialpedagogue in Europe – Living with others as a profession Zurich Federation Internationale des Communautes Educatives (FICE) This collection of essays is a seminal source for all those interested in the work and place of the life space worker (socialpedagogue) in the field of child care and education.

Cross, J. (1990) ‘Therapeutic Experience: ‘The Nature of the Therapeutic Community for Emotionally Deprived Children and Deprived and Disturbed Children’ in Residential Experience Fees, C. (ed) Birmingham : Association of of Workers for Maladjusted Children

Davies Jones, H. (1970) Leadership in Residential Child Care London National Children’s Home

Dostoevsky, F. (1869) The Idiot ( Printed editions of this novel are widely available. It is also available as an ebook.) This is one of the most engaging novels ever written and, like many fine novels, a superb text book on human psychology.

Dwivedi, N.D., (1988) Group Work with Children and Adolescents : A Handbook London Jessica Kingsley 1999

Erikson, E., (1950) Childhood and Society New York Norton & Co,Inc. Erikson’s model of life development is a very helpful map and his idea of trust versus mistrust of our environment has helped me gain insight of the problems which face all of us and not only troubled youngsters. I don’t think this book is currently in print but you can sometimes find a Penguin Pelican edition of it in second hand book shops.

Grosz, S.(2013) The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves London Chatto & Windus A book about the psychoanalysis free of jargon which gives uniques insights of the human mind and human experience which may be taken into the work of anyone in a caring role.

Hardwick, A. & Woodhead, J. (eds) (1999) Loving, Hating and Survival Aldershot Arena This is a wide-ranging handbook, based on psychodynamic theory for all those who work who work with troubled children and young people.

Hinshelwood, R.D. (1987) What Happens in Groups : Psychoanalysis, the Individual and the Community London Free Association Books

Jones, H. (1960) Reluctant Rebels : education and group process in a residential community London Tavistock Publications On re-reading this book in the autumn of 2007, it is easy to dismiss it as outdated but if you wipe away some of the more superficial social and cultural elements relating to the time it was written the reader finds a very helpful analysis of the dynamics of group living and of the therapeutic potential of the group living setting for troubled young people.

Jones,H. (1979) The Residential Community: A Setting for Social Work London Routledge & Kegan Paul

Kahan, B. (1994) Growing up in Groups London HMSO

Kornerup, H.(ed) (2009) “Milieu Therapy” with children : Planned Environmental Therapy in Scandinavia London Karnac Books This is a comprehensive theoretical and practical guide to the use of milieu therapy which begins to build a bridge between psychodynamic and social pedagogic approaches to residential child care.

Little, M. with Kelly, S. (1995) A life Without Problems ? The Achievements of a Therapeutic Community Aldershot Arena

Meadows, S. (2008, Director) Film : Somers Town UK This is a poignant, touching, if at times painful film about the relationship between an isolated Polish teenager living in London with his father and a vulnerable young person who has absconded from a children’s home in the midlands of England.

Milham,S., Bullock,R., & Cherrett, P. (1975) After Grace – Teeth London Human Context Books In its time this was a very influential piece of research which exposed the institutionalisation in Community Homes with Education (CHEs) the establishments which were borne out of the 1969 Children Act.

Milham,S., Bullock,R., Hosie,K., and Haak,M. (1986) Lost in Care : The Problem of Maintaining Links between Children in Care and their Families London Gower

Neill, A.S. (1962) Summerhill Harmondsworth Penguin Books (1980) An article about Summerhill School written by Zoë Readhead, A.S. Neill’s daughter and his successor as Principal of the school can be found at www.goodenoughcaring.com/Journal/Article74.htm

Redl, F. (1966) When We deal with Children New York The Free Press Fritz Redl suggested that the most significant therapeutic opportunity for child care workers was the use of informal events in the daily lives of the children they look after, rather than scheduled, formal sessions. He called this working in the ‘life space’. He called the interaction which took place between the child and worker the Life Space Interview. This was a concept introduced to me in the early 1980s by Haydn Davies Jones at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Since then I have always found it a useful as a working model for framing residential child care.

Rose, J. (2010) How Nurture Protects Children : Nurture and narrative in work with children, young people and families London Responsive Solutions

Rose, M. (1990) Healing Hurt Minds : The Peper Harrow Experience London Tavistock/Routledge This is an account and explanation of the therapeutic community approach to the care of children and young people but it is significant because it deals with the problems this approach has for the caring staff. For me it is also a book about the experience of all adolescents.

Roth, T. (1999, Director) Film : The War Zone UK

Serraillier, I. (1956) The Silver Sword London Jonathon Cape A wonderful story of the companionship, courage and tenacity of children who have had ‘good enough’ early nurture.

Sharpe, C., Daniel,E., Degregorio,S., Kenny, J., & Vishnja,A.(eds). (2008) Love Is Enough : Sincerity and professionalism in the care and education of children and young people Totnes Abbeyhill Press

Sharpe, C.(2006) ‘Residential child care and the psychodynamic approach ; is it time to try again?’ in Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care Vol.5 no.1 See also ‘In Care, In Therapy?’ at www.goodenoughcaring.com/Writings/Writing31.htm

Silversteen, S. (1964) The Giving Tree New York Harper & Row This is a children’s story for everyone and for life. It is still in print.

Suttie, I.D. (1935) The Origins of Love and Hate London Kegan Paul Many of Suttie’s ideas in this constructive criticism of Freudian theory anticipate and to an extent pre-date the work of Bowlby and Winnicott. In my view he is an original thinker who should still be read. Copies of this book can be bought in second hand book shops usually in a 1960 Pelican edition.

Vargas, F. (2005, Director) Film : El Violin Mexico Set ‘somewhere’ in Central America this is not just another film about the struggle ofthe poor against an oppressive state. It portrays the relationships between a child, his father and his grandfather in a place where cruelty, fear, violence and death are never far away. The film left me feeling that people who love and care about other people do, even in most desperate circumstances, rise above the menace and the evil.

Waddell, M., (1998) Inside Lives : Psychoanalysis and the Growth of Personality London Karnac (Revised edition, 2002) This book with its accessible jargon free psychoanalytic account of the development of our emotional lives from conception to adulthood is of interest to for parents and caregivers. For any student of adolescence it is – in my view – essential reading.

Waddell, M. (1985) ‘Living in Two Different Worlds : Psychodynamic Theory and Social Work Practice’ in Free Associations Vol. 10 Accessed online at http://www.human-nature.com/process-press/journals In this paper Margot Waddell suggests that while social workers seem impelled to be seen to be ‘doing’ something for their clients, therapeutic carers allow their clients time to reflect on their lives. It is sometimes just as important to ‘be’ as it is to ‘do’.

Whitwell, J. (2000) ‘Therapeutic Child Care’ in Re-framing Children’s Services (ed. White,K.) London NCVCCO (2002) Accessed at http://www.charterhousegroup.org.uk/article In my view this essay should be required reading for everyone working in residential child care. I found the section dealing with the significance of relationships particularly helpful on matters which I felt I had on reflection wrongly taken for granted.

Winnicott, D.W. (1965) The Family and Individual Development London Routledge 2006

Winnicott, D.W. (1971) Playing and Reality London Routledge 2005

Winnicott, D.W. (1977) The Piggle : An Account of the Psychoanalytic Treatment of a Little Girl London Penguin Books 1991